Pendley Day Nursery

A football-club setting gives Pendley Day Nursery its character: substantial spaces for indoor play, an outdoor garden and use of the whole facility during nursery hours. Based at Cow Lane in Tring, it combines an open-plan layout with activities children choose themselves and others organised by adults. Space is a practical part of the offer, rather than simply a backdrop.

At its November 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged its safeguarding arrangements effective. That is a dated assessment, with clear strengths and two useful improvement points for families to weigh.

Pendley has capacity for 55 children, accepting babies from three months. Morning and afternoon attendance sits alongside flexible hours, within weekday opening from 8am to 6pm.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes the day through play and planned activities covering language, physical development, relationships and other areas of learning. It is the shared early-years framework, rather than an extra programme unique to Pendley. Here, children have both adult-led activities and opportunities to pursue their own interests, indoors and outside.

An open-plan arrangement supports exploration, while the garden, indoor play spaces and library give that exploration different settings. Books have a physical place in the nursery's facilities. Art involves fabrics and painting materials; Music forms part of the daily programme. These are concrete ingredients of the day, rather than a promise that learning happens only through organised group sessions.

In November 2023, children used boxes to build castles and discussed ways to increase their height. The activity connected imaginative play with comparison and problem-solving: children had an idea, tested it and added to their construction. Familiar stories also prompted children to join in with repeated phrases and act out what happened. Repetition gave them an active role in reading.

Vegetable exploration provided another hands-on example that month. Children used safety knives, investigated peppers and tomatoes, and removed peas from pods while adults talked about growing plants. Handling food became an opportunity to investigate texture, taste and how things grow, rather than just practise a cutting skill.

Outdoor and Community Life

Tring Athletic Football Club provides the setting, with the facility reserved for nursery use during childcare hours. Access during that period is restricted to nursery staff, children and their parents or carers. The arrangement matters for families assessing how a nursery works within premises that have another purpose outside its day.

The outdoor garden complements the indoor play areas, and physical activity takes place in both. This gives movement a place throughout the setting, rather than tying it to the weather alone. The nursery's broad spaces are a stronger reason to consider it than an assumed connection between the football-club address and specialist sports coaching.

Relationships and Communication

All About Me paperwork starts the relationship with a new family, giving staff information about the child before everyday care settles into a routine. Each child has a key worker responsible for their observation journal and regular parent-evening discussions. That creates an identifiable person to connect learning observations with what parents know from home.

Daily handovers cover both ends of the day. Parents can pass on anything likely to affect their child, then receive information about activities, eating, sleep and toileting. Regular reports cover achievements and interests, while quarterly parent forums provide a separate opportunity for families to contribute views. Immediate care information and longer-term discussion have different routes.

In November 2023, staff exchanged information with parents about children's nursery experiences and home lives. The current handover and journal arrangements give that exchange a practical structure: families receive everyday details as well as a picture of their child's developing interests.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that staff understood children's individual needs, including special educational needs and disabilities, tracked development and involved outside professionals where support was needed. This is evidence of how support worked at that point, rather than a blanket promise about any future child's experience.

There were also specific limits in the November 2023 practice. Adults sometimes moved children to another activity when they wanted to revisit an unfinished idea, and sensory activities were not consistently adapted so babies could explore them fully. Both points matter: choice needs to remain meaningful after an activity starts, and a baby needs materials arranged within their reach and abilities.

Sessions and Attendance

Pendley opens Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, across 51 weeks. Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm, afternoon sessions from 1pm to 6pm, School Day bookings from 8.30am to 3.30pm and Full Day bookings from 8am to 6pm. Flexible hours are also offered. Bookings must last at least four weeks.

Getting There

The address is Cow Lane, Tring, HP23 5NS, at the stadium site identified as Grass Roots Stadium in its inspection address and The Michael Anthony Stadium in its current contact details. A large front car park supports collection and drop-off.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email at info@pendleydaynursery.com or by telephone on 01442 967140. Showround bookings use the same telephone and email routes.

Funding and Paid Extras

In November 2023, children aged three and four could receive funded early education at Pendley. Funded childcare is offered. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Session fees include snacks, meals and non-food consumables; special trips or outings incur separate costs. Morning bookings include lunch, afternoon bookings include tea, School Day bookings include lunch, and Full Day bookings include lunch and tea. A separate non-refundable registration fee applies. The registration deposit is refundable when leaving the nursery, and fees are payable in advance by the first of each month.

Trained cooks prepare hot lunch, tea and snacks using the nursery's equipped kitchen. This puts food preparation within the setting, alongside the daily care information parents receive at handover.

• Babies' sensory play and children's choices. The November 2023 improvement points concerned access to sensory experiences and adults allowing children to pursue ideas further. During a showround, ask how materials are adapted for babies and how staff respond when a child wants to return to an activity.
• Session length and booking commitment. Morning sessions finish at 1pm, afternoons start at 1pm, and School Day bookings finish at 3.30pm. Bookings last at least four weeks, so choose a pattern that fits your working day over that period.
• Funding and the full bill. In November 2023, children aged three and four could receive funded early education here. Request a written quotation covering your intended attendance, funded hours, meals and non-food consumables together, so you can assess the whole arrangement.

Pendley suits families considering morning or afternoon attendance, as well as those looking for flexible hours within a weekday nursery day. The football-club premises, garden and open-plan play spaces give it a recognisable physical character; the key-worker journal, daily handovers and quarterly forums give parent communication a clear structure.

The Good judgement from November 2023 supports its appeal, while the practical improvement points deserve attention, especially for families with babies. The strongest choice here is one based on how those spaces, attendance options and care arrangements fit your child, with sensory access and meaningful choice part of the visit discussion.